CARDIFF CITY’S INJURED ELEVEN
NEIL Warnock was dealt more injury problems during Cardiff City’s stunning comeback against Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Monday night.
Captain Sean Morrison was forced off the pitch after just 34 minutes of the 2-2 draw against his former club while Danny Ward and Craig Bryson both missed the clash with Jaap Stam’s outfit through injury.
It saw the Bluebirds’ ever-increasing injury list — which also includes the likes of Kenneth Zohore and Aron Gunnarsson — expand to a whole new level ahead of the clash with Hull at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday evening.
So we came up with an XI compiled solely from those currently on the treatment table, and it’s safe to say it’s an impressive makeshift team... Lee Camp The former Rotherham man suffered a setback on his previous comeback from injury but returned to feature for the Under-23 side against Crystal Palace at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night. Camp is yet to feature for the first team since joining on a Bosman deal in the summer, but he will no doubt provide some welcome competition to current first choice Neil Etheridge in the near future. Jazz Richards The Wales international suffered an ankle injury during the 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in September and doesn’t look like returning to action until the New Year.
His versatility will have been hugely beneficial to Warnock when the likes of Callum Paterson and Joe Bennett were sidelined, but injury is a cruel mistress, and Richards will have to bide his time before he has any chance of forcing his way back into the Bluebirds’ first team. Sean Morrison Fortunately for Cardiff, Warnock revealed after the clash with the Royals that his skipper was withdrawn as a precautionary measure after he sustained a groin problem.
He could well return to action against Hull at the weekend to continue his record of featuring in every Championship fixture for the Bluebirds since Warnock arrived in the Welsh capital last year. Rolf Feltscher Warnock added the Venezuela international to his ranks in midNovember but he is yet to feature for the first team, although he was an unused substitute in the games against Nottingham Forest and Barnsley. And while he had not suffered an injury since joining the Bluebirds, Feltscher has needed time to gain match fitness having not played a full game since featuring in Venezuela’s 1-1 draw with Argentina in a World Cup qualifier on September 6. Anthony Pilkington Pilkington could well depart Cardiff City Stadium in the January transfer window, and the 29-year-old is yet to feature for the Bluebirds in a Championship fixture this season. He was listed among the substitutes for the clash with Reading on Monday night, but speaking in his post-match press conference at the Madejski, Warnock stated that the nine-cap Republic of Ireland international wasn’t in contention to take part having suffered a back spasm. Kadeem Harris The winger’s season was cruelly postponed as he sustained an ankle problem during the Bluebirds’ final pre-season encounter against Livingston.
He is yet to feature for the first team in the 2017-18 campaign, although he starred for the Under-23 side in their defeat to Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, scoring the opener inside the first minute.
Arguably Cardiff’s most consistent wideman last term, Harris’ return to the squad will be a huge boost to Warnock. Craig Bryson The Scot was a surprise omission from the matchday squad at Reading, and it was later revealed that the man on a season-long loan from Championship rivals Derby was struggling with an Achilles problem. “The amount of running he did in that week (in games against Barnsley and Nottingham Forest), you could understand it,” said Warnock. “He said to me he might be all right and ‘if I don’t play at Reading, I should be all right (for Hull).’” Aron Gunnarsson The Iceland international returned to action in the 2-0 win against Brentford after more than a month on the sidelines, but he has not donned the blue jersey since playing 74 minutes in the 1-0 success at Barnsley.
Warnock is currently sweating on the fitness of Gunnarsson who may require ankle surgery that could rule him out of action for another month, but if the injections he’s received do the trick, he could be back imminently. Omar Bogle The Bluebirds’ only fit forward at Reading was withdrawn late on with what Warnock later described as cramp, with winger Liam Feeney coming on in his place.
The 24-year-old is expected to be in contention to feature against Hull at the weekend. Danny Ward Ward missed the trip to the Madejski Stadium due to a knee problem, and it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be available to face the Tigers on Saturday.
Had scored three times in five matches prior to the visit of Norwich. Kenneth Zohore The Bluebirds’ hopes of promotion were almost solely pinned on the Dane before the beginning of the campaign, and having already gone two months without being able to select Zohore, Warnock looks set to be without last season’s top goalscorer for another month. Here’s hoping he can have the same impact in the latter half of the campaign as he did in the second half of the 2016-17 season once he’s put his injury troubles behind him. Cardiff City’s injured XI: Camp; Richards, Morrison, Feltscher; Pilkington, K. Harris, Bryson, Gunnarsson; Bogle, Ward, Zohore. Subs: Gounongbe & Healey.